Macron expressed relief that “the worst had been avoided” in a fire that risked bringing the entire edifice down and left France in shock over the damage to a building described as the soul of the nation.

But the blaze destroyed the roof of the 850-year-old UNESCO world heritage landmark, whose spectacular Gothic spire collapsed before the eyes of horrified onlookers on a previously pristine early spring evening.

The fire, which came as Catholics prepare to celebrate Easter, sent orange flames and clouds of grey smoke billowing into the sky as stunned Parisians and tourists watched on in horror.

As darkness fell, some 400 firefighters then battled to control the blaze and save at least its iconic front towers. They finally gained the upper hand as midnight approached.

Paris fire brigade chief Jean-Claude Gallet said “we can consider that the main structure of Notre-Dame has been saved and preserved” as well as the two towers.

Deputy Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, also present at the scene, said that for the first time “the fire had decreased in intensity” while still urging “extreme caution”.

– ‘France is Notre Dame’ –

“Notre-Dame survived all the wars, all the bombardments. We never thought it could burn. I feel incredibly sad and empty,” Stephane Seigneurie, a consultant who joined other shocked onlookers in a solemn rendition of “Ave Maria” as they watched the fire from a nearby bridge.

Gasps and cries of “Oh my god” erupted around an hour after the fire first broke out when the top portion of the church’s spire came crashing down.

“We have been dealt a knockout blow,” a stricken-looking Paris Archbishop Michel Aupetit told reporters.

The cause of the blaze was not immediately confirmed. The cathedral had been undergoing intense restoration work which the fire service said could be linked to the blaze.

French prosecutors said it was being treated as an “involuntary” fire, indicating that foul play was ruled out for now.

Historians expressed incredulity at the collapse of a building that has been a symbol of France for almost a millennium and withstood war and revolution.

“If Paris is the Eiffel Tower then France is Notre Dame. It’s the entire culture, entire history of France incarnated in this monument,” Bernard Lecomte, a writer and specialist in religious history told BFM TV.

Deputy Paris mayor Emmanuel Gregoire told the channel that workers were scrambling “to save all the artworks that can be saved.” Officials later said teams had managed to salvage an unknown quantity of the cultural treasures.

– ‘Emotion of a nation’ –

Macron had earlier cancelled a major televised policy speech he was due to give on Monday evening to respond to months of protests, and instead headed to the scene in person.

Visibly emotional, he said while the “worst had been avoided” and the facade and two towers saved “the next hours will be difficult”.

“And we will rebuild Notre-Dame because it is what the French expect,” he said, describing Notre Dame as “the epicentre of our life” and the cathedral of “all the French”, whether religious or not.

France’s billionaire Pinault dynasty immediately pledged 100 million euros for the effort.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Notre-Dame cathedral a “symbol of European culture” as the blaze raged.

The Vatican on Monday expressed its “incredulity” and “sadness”, expressing “our closeness with French Catholics and with the Parisian population.”

– ‘Water bombers not used’ –

There was no immediate indication of any casualties in the blaze.

US President Donald Trump in a tweet said it was “horrible” to watch the fire but caused controversy by offering advice on how to put it out.

“Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out. Must act quickly!” he said.

But France’s civil security service, which oversees crisis management in the country, tweeted back at Trump that the use of water-bombing aircraft was not being considered.

“If used, (this) could lead to the collapse of the entire structure of the cathedral,” it said.

– ‘Will never be the same’ –

The cathedral was located at the centre of the French capital in the Middle Ages and its construction was completed in the mid-12th century after some 200 years of work.

During the French Revolution in the 18th century, the cathedral was vandalised in widespread anti-Catholic violence: its spire was dismantled, its treasures plundered and its large statues at the grand entrance doors destroyed.

It would go on to feature as a central character in a Victor Hugo novel published in 1831, “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame” and shortly afterwards a restoration project lasting two decades got under way, led by architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc.

It would survive the devastation of two world conflicts in the 20th century and famously rang its bells on August 24, 1944, the day of the Liberation of Paris from German occupation at the end of the World War II.

“Paris is disfigured. The city will never be like it was before,” said Philippe, a communications worker in his mid-30s, who had biked over to the scene after being alerted of the fire by a friend.

Jacky Lafortune, a 72-year-old artist and self-described atheist stood forlornly on the banks of the River Seine staring at the cathedral.

Comparing the mood in the French capital to the aftermath of a terror attack he said: “But this stirs much deeper emotions because Notre-Dame is linked to the very foundations of our culture.”

Here are some of the reactions delivered through statements and tweets.

– European Union –

“Notre Dame “belongs to the whole of humanity. It has inspired writers, painters. philosophers and visitors who have come from all round the world.”: EU Commission head Jean Claude Juncker

“Notre Dame of Paris is Notre Dame of the whole of Europe, We are all with Paris today.”: EU Council President Donald Tusk

– The Vatican –

“We express our closeness with French Catholics and with the Parisian population. We pray for the firefighters and for all those who are trying their best to tackle this dramatic situation,”: Vatican spokesman

– US –

“So horrible to watch the massive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out. Must act quickly!”: President Donald Trump

– Britain –

“My thoughts are with the people of France tonight and with the emergency services who are fighting the terrible blaze at Notre-Dame Cathedral.”: British Prime Minister Theresa May

– Germany –

“These horrible images of Notre-Dame on fire are painful. Notre-Dame is a symbol of France and of our European culture. Our thoughts are with our French friends.”: German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert

– Spain –

“We are following with alarm the news arriving from Paris of the fire at Notre Dame, one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world. Sad news for our history and our universal cultural heritage.”: Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez

– Italy –

“A blow to the heart for the French and for us all Europeans”.: Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte

– Belgium –

“Notre Dame de Paris on fire, a huge emotion, Victor Hugo, a part of the history of France, of Europe. My thoughts and support for our French friends.”: Prime Minister Charles Michel

– Austria –

“Shocking images from Paris. An emblem, a cultural heritage of humanity and one of the most beautiful works of art in French history. Notre Dame is in flames. We hope no one is injured. Our thoughts are with Paris,”: Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz

– UNESCO –

The UN cultural agency “stands at France’s side to save and restore this priceless heritage”: UNESCO secretary general Audrey Azoulay

– Anglican Church –

“Tonight we pray for the firefighters tackling the tragic Notre Dame fire – and for everyone in France and beyond who watches and weeps for this beautiful, sacred place where millions have met with Jesus Christ.”: Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby

Here are some key facts about the Gothic cathedral.

– Heart of Paris –

The architectural gem located on the Ile de la Cite — one of two tiny natural islands in the Seine River in Paris — was at the centre of the French capital in the Middle Ages.

Its construction began in the mid-12th century and continued for some 200 years.

During the 18th century French Revolution it was hit by many acts of vandalism, targeted as a Catholic symbol — its spire was dismantled, treasures plundered and the statues at its entrance doors destroyed.

It would go on to feature as a central character in Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and shortly afterwards a restoration project lasting two decades got under way, led by architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc.

It would survive the devastation of two world conflicts in the 20th century and famously rang its bells on August 24, 1944, announcing the liberation of Paris from German occupation at the end of the WWII.

(FILES) this file photograph taken on June 26, 2018, shows the heart and transept at Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral in Paris. – /AFP

– Tourist hot-spot –

Around 12 to 14 million people visit the cathedral every year, an average of more than 30,000 per day.

A favourite for tourists, Notre Dame also attracts many couples hoping to tie the knot under its famed Gothic arches.

Five religious services are held there every day and seven on Sundays. In total more than 2,000 take place every year.

The cathedral’s nine giant bells were replaced in 2013 and its spire, which collapsed on Monday, was in the process of being renovated.

– Terror target –

In recent years Notre Dame has also been the site of tragedy. Its bells rang the day after the attacks on the Charlie Hebdo satirical newspaper in 2015 to honour the victims.

A year later top civil and religious officials gathered at the cathedral for a mass in honour of Jacques Hamel, the French priest who had his throat slit by Islamists in the diocese of Rouen, a northern city.

In September 2016 a car packed with gas canisters was discovered near the cathedral. Three women believed to have been spurred by the Islamic State group were subsequently charged with terror offences.

And in June 2017 an Algerian shouting “This is for Syria” tried to attack a policeman with a hammer outside Notre Dame but was shot and wounded.

Gasps and cries of “Oh my god” erupted at 7:50 pm (1750 GMT) when the top portion of the church’s spire came crashing down into an inferno that has spread to the entire roof.

People react as they watch flames engulf the roof of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral in the French capital Paris on April 15, 2019. /AFP

More gasps came a few seconds later when the rest of the spire collapsed, caught on the cameras of thousands of mobile phones.

“Paris is disfigured. The city will never be like it was before,” said Philippe, a communications worker in his mid-30s, who had biked over after being alerted of the fire by a friend.

“It’s a tragedy,” he added. “If you pray, now is the time to pray.”

A woman reacts as she watches the flames engulf the roof of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on April 15, 2019. /AFP

Police were attempting to clear pedestrians away from the two islands in the river Seine, including the Ile de la Cite which houses the soaring Gothic church, one of Europe’s best known landmarks.

But throngs of onlookers kept trying to approach, snarling traffic as they massed on the stone bridges leading to the islands.

Another woman passed by, tears running from behind her glasses, too overwhelmed to speak to reporters.

A man reacts as he watches the flames engulf the roof of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on April 15, 2019. /AFP

“It’s finished, we’ll never be able to see it again,” said Jerome Fautrey, a 37-year-old who had come to watch.

“Now we need to know how this happened — with everything that’s going on in the world, why Notre-Dame? Maybe it’s a message from on high,” he said.

One police officer, arriving on one of the bridges, turned up to gape, saying “Oh my god.”

– ‘History up in smoke’ –

“It’s incredible, our history is going up in smoke,” said Benoit, 42, who arrived on the scene by bike.

Sam Ogden, 50, had arrived from London on Monday with her husband, their two teenaged sons, and her mother. They had come to Paris specifically to see Notre-Dame, part of a world tour over years to see historic sites.

“This is really sad — the saddest thing I’ve ever stood and watched in my life,” Ogden said.

She said the fire looked tiny at the beginning, “then within an hour it all came down.”

Her mother, Mary Huxtable, 73, said: “This (Notre-Dame) was on my bucket list to see. Now I’ll never go inside.”

Bystanders look on as flames and smoke billow from the roof at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on April 15, 2019 /AFP

A short distance away stood another British family, also from London.

“It’s devastating,” said Nathalie Cadwallader, 42, who had come to Paris two days earlier with her husband and two children for a weeklong visit.

“This is a really historic skyscape and it’s horrible this happened, on top of everything else Paris has gone through recently,” she said, referring to the deadly jihadist terror attacks that struck the city in 2015.

Her family had initially planned to visit Notre-Dame on Monday but opted instead for the Eiffel Tower, intending to go inside the cathedral on Tuesday.

The fire, which began in the early evening, sent flames and huge clouds of grey smoke billowing into the Paris sky as stunned Parisians and tourists watched on in sheer horror.

Flames and smoke are seen billowing from the roof at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on April 15, 2019/AFP

The cause of the blaze was not immediately confirmed but the cathedral had been undergoing intense restoration work to help the 850-year-old gothic masterpiece better deal with the tests of time.The flames and smoke plumed from the spire and roof of the cathedral, visited by millions of people a year.

Deputy Paris mayor Emmanuel Gregoire told BFM TV the spire “collapsed inwards” and that workers were scrambling “to save all the artworks that can be saved.”

This combination of video frame grabs shows the steeple collapsing as flames and smoke billow from the roof at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on April 15, 2019 /AFP

A spokesman for the cathedral told AFP that the wooden structure supporting the roof was being gutted by the blaze.

“Everything is burning,” the spokesman for Notre Dame, Andre Finot, told AFP.

The fire service said the blaze could be “potentially linked” to ongoing renovations.

The steeple of the landmark Notre-Dame Cathedral collapses as the cathedral is engulfed in flames in central Paris on April 15, 2019. /AFP

– ‘Emotion of a nation’ –

President Emmanuel Macron cancelled a major televised policy speech he was due to give on Monday evening over the “terrible fire ravaging Notre-Dame.”

He was to head to the scene in person, the Elysee announced.

In a tweet he expressed the “emotion of a whole nation” on seeing Notre-Dame ablaze.

“Like all my compatriots I am sad to see a part of us burn this evening” he said, expressing solidarity with “all Catholics and all French people.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Notre-Dame cathedral a “symbol of European culture” as the blaze raged.

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo in a tweet described it as a “terrible fire”.

Vast clouds of grey-white smoke billowed round the cathedral as yellow flames still licked the top of the building.

There was no immediate indication of any casualties in the blaze.

“The Paris fire service is trying to control the flames,” Hidalgo wrote on Twitter, asking residents to respect the security cordon thrown up around the site.

Firefighters douse flames and smoke billowing from the roof at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on April 15, 2019 /AFP

A spokesperson for the cathedral said the fire, which comes as French Catholics prepare to celebrate Easter, broke out at around 1650 GMT.

Fire trucks could be seen speeding through Paris towards the scene on the Ile de la Cite — an island in the Seine at the heart of Paris.

The Paris police department in a tweet called on residents to avoid the area and to “make way for rescue vehicles”.

– ‘Horrible to watch’ –

US President Donald Trump in a tweet said: “So horrible to watch the massive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out. Must act quickly!”

Hundreds of people gathered on the bridges of Paris downriver to witness the scene, some filming the images with their smartphones, an AFP reporter said.

(FILES) This file photo taken on September 18, 2015 from the roof of the Saint-Eustache church shows the cathedral Notre-Dame, in Paris /AFP

The cathedral had been undergoing intense restoration work which last week saw statues lifted from the top of the cathedral.

Built between the years 1163 and 1345, Notre-Dame is one of the most popular tourist sites in Paris, drawing around 13 million people every year.

The spire, like the rest of the gothic edifice, had been undergoing the 11-million-euro ($12.4-million) overhaul financed by the French state to repair damage inflicted by time, pollution and the weather.

The flames and smoke plumed from the spire and roof of the gothic cathedral, visited by millions of people a year.

A spokesman for the cathedral told AFP that the wooden structure supporting the roof was being gutted by the blaze.

Smoke billows as flames destroy the roof of the landmark Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris on April 15, 2019. /AFP

The fire service said the blaze could be “potentially linked” to ongoing renovations.

President Emmanuel Macron cancelled a major televised policy speech he was due to give on Monday evening over the “terrible fire ravaging Notre-Dame.”

The landmark Notre-Dame Cathedral is engulfed by flames in central Paris on April 15, 2019 /AFP

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo in a tweet described it as a “terrible fire”.

“The Paris fire service is trying to control the flames,” she wrote on Twitter, asking residents to respect the security cordon thrown up around the site.

A spokesperson for the cathedral said the fire, which comes as French Catholics prepare to celebrate Easter, broke out at around 1650 GMT.

Flames and smoke are seen billowing from the roof at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on April 15, 2019. /AFP

Fire trucks could be seen speeding through Paris towards the scene on the Ile de la Cite — an island in the Seine at the heart of Paris.

The Paris police department in a tweet called on residents to avoid the area and to “make way for rescue vehicles”.

US President Donald Trump in a tweet said: “So horrible to watch the massive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out. Must act quickly!”

People watch the landmark Notre-Dame Cathedral burning in central Paris on April 15, 2019. /AFP

Hundreds of people gathered on the bridges of Paris downriver to witness the scene, some filming the images with their smartphones, an AFP reporter said.

A burning smell filled the air.

Last week Malaysia and China agreed to push ahead with the railway at a 30-percent lower cost, lifting a suspension slapped on the project when a corruption-plagued regime lost power last year.

It was among several Beijing-financed deals in the Southeast Asian country put on hold after the change of government, amid concerns they lacked transparency and were aimed at funnelling cash to the administration of ex-leader Najib Razak.

The 640-kilometer (400-mile) east coast rail link will run from northern Malaysia, near the Thai border, to a port outside Kuala Lumpur, and is seen as a key project in China’s Belt and Road infrastructure drive.

Announcing further details Monday, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said that the government “was faced with the choice to either renegotiate or pay termination costs of about 21.78 billion ringgit ($5.3 billion), with nothing to show for it.

“As such, we chose to go back to the negotiating table and call for a more equitable deal, whereby the needs of the Malaysian people would be prioritised.”

He also announced the main Chinese company in the scheme, China Communications Construction Company, had agreed to help with operation and maintenance of the line, which would ease the financial burden on Malaysia.

Under the new agreement announced last week, the project cost has been reduced to 44 billion ringgit. Malaysia will still need to take a loan from a Chinese state-owned bank to fund the line but it will be less than under the original deal.

Mahathir, 93, returned for a second stint as premier in May last year after he led a reformist alliance to a surprise victory at the polls, toppling Najib’s coalition which had been in power for over six decades.

Najib has since been slapped with dozens of charges over his alleged role in looting state fund 1MDB, and went on trial over the scandal this month.

The Bukit Aman IGP secretariat Anti-Money Laundering division chief said investigators had obtained evidence that the pink diamond worth US$23mil (RM94.6mil) was bought from a jeweller in New York using 1MDB funds.“Even though the diamond was not found during the raids we conducted, we have found enough evidence to show that the diamond was purchased,” he said in a statement yesterday.

He was commenting on the denial issued by Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor regarding the purchase of the pink diamond.

Earlier this week, Rosmah said she would forgive those who had slandered her over her alleged purchase of the 22-carat pink diamond. Rosmah claimed the issue was trumped up by certain parties to “use it for the elections”.

“If people come to apologise to me, I will forgive them. But what is more important is to apologise to the people,” she said at the Kuala Lum­pur Courts Complex on Wed­nesday.

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On Monday, a news portal reported that Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Amiruddin Hamzah said the sales agent who brought in a pink diamond, along with other items of jewellery for the “wife of a VVIP”, declared the items when taking them out of Malaysia.

“No purchase took place because the agent took the jewellery out (of the country),” he said.